Lolly (born Anna Shantha Kumble (pronounced ''KUUM-blay, Kŭmblā''); 27 June 1977,

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

) is an English singer, dancer and TV presenter.

Career

Anna Kumble worked as a model before going into a pop career. Lolly arrived on the British pop music scene in 1999 with the release of her first single, "Viva La Radio". She released five singles and two albums over her two-year career in music. Her real name was released one letter at a time in ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' magazine. After quitting her record label Polydor, Lolly reverted to her real name and began TV presenting, working for the BBC on programmes such as '' Xchange''. She also works for Nickelodeon. Kumble also acted as a stand-in for presenter

Anna Williamson Anna Williamson (born 23 July 1981) is an English television presenter and dating agent. She is known as the former co-presenter of children's programmes '' Rescue Robots'' ''Toonattik'' and ''Action Stations!'' on CITV. In 2019, Williamson beg ...

some Saturday and Sunday mornings on now-axed kids show ''

Toonattik ''Toonattik'' was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, GMTV (known on-air as CITV at weekends), which ran from 5 February 2005 to 26 December 2010. The strand aired on weekend mornings from 07:25 (some ...

'' on CITV. She has had roles in West End productions of '' Starlight Express'' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and played Priscilla Presley in ''

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

'' at the Prince of Wales Theatre. In July 2018, her first two albums "My First Album" and "Pick 'n' Mix" were released digitally. In October 2018, she released a new single "Stay Young and Beautiful", her first in 18 years. In 2020, Lolly's second single was titled ''Paper Rain''.

Pantomime

Kumble has starred in a number of pantomimes, typically billed as "Anna Kumble (Lolly)." In 2002, she played Tinker Bell in '' Peter Pan'' at the Theatre Royal, Brighton. In 2004, she played the title role in ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'' at the

Derby Assembly Rooms The Derby Assembly Rooms is a events venue in Derby. It was built in 1977 in the brutalist style. The Assembly Rooms building was designed by Hugh Casson and Neville Conder. It replaced an 18th-century building of the same name that burned down ...

. In 2006, Kumble starred as Alice Fitzwarren in ''

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

'' at The Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare. In 2009, Kumble again starred in ''Dick Whittington'' as Fairy Bowbells, this time at the Stag theatre, Kent. In 2010, Kumble returned to ''Peter Pan'', this time playing the role of Tiger Lily at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre. In December 2012, she appeared in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' in Weymouth. In December 2018, she appeared in ''Cinderella'' as the Fairy Godmother in Telford. She returned to Telford in December 2022, where she appeared in ''Snow White'' as the Evil Queen.

Personal life

Anna Kumble was born to Jaiker Kumble (who emigrated from India) and Barbara in Sutton Coldfield. She has a brother Paul, and a sister Jodie. Kumble attended The Shrubbery School, Highclare School and

Plantsbrook School Plantsbrook School, (formerly Riland Bedford High School), is a secondary school with academy status located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The school achieved an "Outstanding" Ofsted status once in 2012. The most recent rating w ...

in Sutton Coldfield. Kumble is a graduate of the London Studio Centre and has two children, a son Charlie and a daughter Belle, who is following in her mother’s musical footsteps.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Lolly biography, news and discography
at Bubblegum Dancer *
Original Lolly Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lolly 1977 births Living people Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Sutton Coldfield English women pop singers English people of Indian descent 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers